Treatment of Coyotes Called Inhumane

The trapper also said that Montgomery Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, who lives in the area, was recently chased by a coyote. A police spokesman said he could not confirm the claim.

Left unchecked, Adcock warned, the area's coyotes could reproduce quickly.

Adcock, licensed as a nuisance wildlife control cooperator by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said less-painful trapping techniques -- such as cages -- are largely ineffective when it comes to catching adult coyotes.

"These are not normal coyotes," he said. "These coyotes have some dog in them. They're just so big."

Ken D'Loughy, central regional manager for the Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife and Heritage Service division, said he doesn't think anyone in Maryland has ever been attacked by a coyote.

"They've been known to take out the occasional cat," he said.

D'Loughy said it's not clear how long the coyotes have been in the neighborhood near Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, but he added that the volume of calls about them is increasing slightly.

Zanville said she also has a problem with Adcock's preferred method of euthanasia: a bullet. She said she has volunteered to euthanize them with a lethal injection at the local animal center, an offer he has declined.

Adcock said shooting coyotes is standard in the industry. He said he doesn't appreciate being portrayed as an insensitive and cruel man, noting that his livelihood could be at stake.

"I don't think there's any trapper in the world that rehabilitates more foxes than I do," he said. "I feel like I'm being singled out because I'm a good trapper, an aggressive trapper."

Cary J. Hansel, the trap opponents' attorney, said he is merely singling out violations of Maryland law. He cited in court the provisions of the Natural Resources Article of the Maryland Code that forbids illegally using leg-hold traps, illegally trapping on Sundays, illegally trapping at night and illegally trapping coyotes out of season.

"The primary concern for the plaintiffs was that anything done to them was done humanely," Hansel said.

Adcock, who said he was unprepared for the hearing because he was notified two hours before it began, challenged the plaintiffs' attorneys' contention that his traps were inhumane.

"I don't know how many animals these two gentleman have trapped in their lives," said Adcock, who represented himself during the 45-minute hearing. "They can't be trapped in cages. They're too smart for that."

The restraining order will be in effect for 10 days. After that, the plaintiffs said, they will seek a permanent injunction against Adcock's trapping methods.